Poll finds Israeli public opinion on war against Hezbollah deeply divided

Israeli public opinion appears to be deeply divided when it comes to the ongoing fighting against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the Israel Democracy Institute’s October 2024 Israeli Voice Index finds.

According to the poll, 46.5 percent of Israelis believe that Israel should pursue a diplomatic agreement with Hezbollah, compared to 46% of people who believe that Israel should continue fighting the terror group in order to put an end to the daily rocket fire at northern Israel that has driven some 60,000 people from their homes.

Another 7.5% of people said they don’t know what the correct approach is.

The poll finds that among Jewish Israelis, 54% support continued fighting in the north, while 38% favor a diplomatic agreement. Among Arab Israelis, just 6.5% of respondents support continued fighting, in comparison to 88% who would prefer to reach a ceasefire through diplomacy.

With regard to Gaza, IDI finds that 62.5% of Jewish Israelis and 21% of Arab Israelis believe that the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar brings Israel closer to its stated goal of toppling Hamas.

The poll also finds that 43.5% of Israelis believe that the targeted strikes carried out by Israel on Iranian military targets was too weak of a response to the massive ballistic missile attack launched by Tehran on October 1. Another 41% of people believe that the response was appropriately strong, while just 3.5% of respondents believe that it was too strong.